FAQ

UNLIMITED Electives! Learn specifically what interests YOU!

That's right! Starting with the 30-week November enrollment of 2015, students can take unlimited electives while enrolled and can ALSO take unlimited electives up to SIX MONTHS after the student's scheduled graduation.

Other policies still apply, for example, the student must still COMPLETE at least four elective units to graduate from the 30-week course and six elective units to graduate from the 40-week course.

Comparing the 30-week and 40-week class schedules

The 40-week course fits your busy, hectic schedule! Many of NPTI Colorado's students are either career changers or just too busy to get here for the day class. The 40-week program is a perfect fit for you!

Class starts at 6:30 p.m. (instead of 5:15 p.m.) giving you more time to get here on time for class.

Class is Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evening. Almost every other week, you'll have Friday nights off and come to class on Saturday. Some weeks (12 - 14 weeks out of the total 40-week program) you will have class Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Saturday. Why? We want you to finish the program in 40 weeks!

You don't miss a thing in this 40-week course. It's the same 600 hour course. Only spread out a little more to accommodate your schedule. In fact, you can take MORE electives as part of your base tuition cost!

Come sit in on a class. Find out why this 40-week schedule has become one of our most popular personal trainer course offerings.

Personal Trainer Certification

There are on-line courses, but NO, we do not believe that an entry level trainer can become "qualified" to be an effective personal trainer simply from having taken an on-line certification. This would be analogous to learning to play golf by reading a book or learning to be a physical therapist via an on-line education and an on-line certification course.

There are several high quality, on-line courses that test academic proficiency but, by nature of being an on-line course, do not adequately test hands-on ability or give the trainer the required "personal trainer experience".

While on-line courses have their place and time, in our opinion, on-line training is not appropriate at the beginning stages of learning to be a personal fitness trainer. You need education. You need hands-on experience. You need multiple "what-if" situations. You need a class room and an instructor and a variety of other students to practice, practice, practice.

Furthermore, employers do not have the same respect for trainers who were qualified “on-line” for the following reasons:

An on-line educated trainer will not be proficient in taking a client’s blood pressure, or measuring body composition with calipers, or checking Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) while counseling the client on the results … all skills learned at NPTI Colorado

On on-line educated trainer is not tested in spotting techniques, recognizing spatial relationships as they apply to the client, the exercise, and the equipment used … all required skills and experiences for maximizing client results and minimizing liability

Many on-line examinations do not adequately verify that the test respondent is who s/he says they are … decreasing the credibility in the personal trainer examination results.

Many on-line examinations allow “open book” testing … further decreasing the reliability in the trainer’s skills

The personal training profession is not a regulated profession. While the industry is getting better at demanding experience, education, expertise, and a certification, sometimes just having the certification let's novice trainers "get a job". Another question you might consider is, "How many other respected professions that ARE licensed, doctors, lawyers, physical therapists, chiropractors, plumbers, electricians, psychiatrists, allow their practitioners to be licensed and to practice having taken just an on-line course and certifying their expertise on-line?" Answer: None. We believe we should follow their example and we believe that so should you.

The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) is the accreditation body for the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA). Certification programs (including on-line certification programs) may apply and be accredited by the NCCA if they demonstrate compliance with each accreditation standard. An NCCA accredited personal fitness trainer certification satisfies competency testing requirements for each of the major topics determined to be significant in ones performance as a personal fitness trainer. These topics are as determined by a statistically correct questioning of industry professionals.

Passing an NCCA accredited certification does not ensure that you have the necessary hands-on / practical experience characteristic of an effective and safe personal fitness trainer. The content of any / all NCCA accredited certification's "course" material is not necessarily recognized as an industry-wide accepted "best practice". The content of any course material should pass the academic litmus test for scientific accuracy (i.e. acceptable research).

NPTI Colorado recommends that its graduates take the equivalent of the “Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) examination from one or more of these nationally (and in some cases internationally) recognized certifying agencies upon graduation:

ACE / American Council on Exercise

ACSM / American College of Sports Medicine

NASM / National Academy of Sports Medicine

NSCA / National Strength & Conditioning Association

Other specialty type certifications can be found for intensive continuing education in yoga, pilates, various martial arts, kettlebell training, and more.

No, not all personal fitness trainer certifications are equal and some are indeed better than others. As a broad, general statement, we believe that the NSCA, ACSM, NASM, and ACE certified personal trainer certifications best test both hands-on and academic proficiency. Again, there are several high quality, on-line courses that test academic proficiency but, by nature of being an on-line course, do not adequately test hands-on ability or give the trainer (especially the beginning trainer) the required "personal trainer experience".

The student should make his / her own decision based on the content tested by NSCA, ACSM, NESTA, NCSF, ACE, NFPT, ISSA, AFAA, WITS (there are well over 50 "certifications"), etc. whether or not one or more of these personal fitness trainer certifications meets his / her desire to become a personal trainer who trains athletes, the average de-conditioned person, rehabilitation oriented clients (which typically require that you work with a licensed medical professional), etc.

NPTI Colorado personal trainer instructors come from a variety of health & fitness backgrounds, possess a myriad of highly qualified certifications, and set the academic standards for any personal training school who truly wants to educate their personal trainer graduates.

We are a licensed, post secondary career technical school. No, we are not a certification agency nor do we intend to ever become a certifying agency like ACE, ACSM, NSCA or NASM.

In fact, we embrace what these certifying agencies legitimize through their certifications.

We use their textbooks.

We teach what you need to know to pass their personal fitness trainer certifications. We are an EDUCATOR. We host their exams and their continuing education courses. But we would no more "compete" with the certifying agencies than Harvard Law School would compete with the Massachusetts State Bar Examination. A certification SHOULD be separate and apart from the certifying agency to make certain that there is no conflict of interest.

The National Personal Training Institute of Colorado teaches you more than just “how to pass a personal trainer certification”. NPTI Colorado teaches you what you need to know to sustain a long, successful career as a personal fitness trainer.

Actually, no state “licenses” personal trainers. The personal training profession is a non-regulated profession (unlike the medical profession that requires doctors, nurses, physical therapists, etc. to be licensed by a government entity like the state). Any personal training certification or school that tells you they are "licensed" in any state is not telling you the truth.

Personal Trainer Electives & Specialization

Exciting NEW addition to the 2015 November class and all future classes: UNLIMITED electives both while you are enrolled and up to SIX MONTHS after your scheduled graduation!

NPTI Colorado examined the specialty areas with the greatest demand in both the marketplace (by by fitness services consumers) and by personal trainers (looking for continuing education and skills enhancement). We also looked for electives with a recognized certification e.g. ACE, ACSM, NSCA, NASM, IKFF, etc.

NPTI Colorado offers an exciting, varied suite of electives to suit your desired area of concentration. The NPTI CO student and graduate benefits from a.) quick return on their education investment, b.) a quick start in the personal training industry with both specialized and valued fitness education.

Yes, you are welcome to come back and take electives after you graduate. In fact ... starting in November 2015, you can take UNLIMITED electives while enrolled and up to SIX MONTHS after your scheduled graduation!

The Saturday sessions are intentionally scheduled on Saturday so as not to conflict with the weekday / evening regularly schedule NPTI CO sessions.

In fact, 24-Hour Fitness, the largest health and fitness employer in the State of Colorado, pays more for certified personal fitness trainers who have graduated from NPTI Colorado as if they had another certification (an immediate return on your NPTI Colorado investment).

For more information about your employment opportunities upon graduation from NPTI Colorado, please see the other FAQ's in this section, "Personal Trainer Employment", specifically, #7: What percentage of your graduates secure personal trainer related jobs after graduation?.

That's true. If you successfully graduated from NPTI and desired employment with CAC, Bally’s, Lifetime Fitness or any large chain club, you'd still need to pass the Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) examination and have a valid American Red Cross or American Heart Association CPR / AED card. NPTI Colorado provides all of that training and education!. But this is not unlike becoming an attorney, for example, you'd still need to pass the Bar Exam after graduating from law school. Or if you wanted to work in the Information Technology industry, you may have a computer science degree, but you may still be required to pass an industry recognized certification such as the Microsoft MCSE examination.

Passing an industry recognized examination is not an uncommon practice in any industry, even this one, and no matter where you went to school.

The fact is, we teach you the practical and the theoretical components that make up what you need to know to PASS the Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) examination.

Personal trainers might work in health clubs, personal training studios, in public schools, colleges with membership fitness centers, assisted living centers, cruise ships, recreation centers, or even in a medical professional's office such as a chiropractor, physical therapist, or a rheumatologist (the #1 prescription for arthritis is exercise!).

A personal trainer may find him / herself working in a corporation unrelated to the fitness business, like a phone company, a software manufacturer, or an insurance firm.

Many states (Colorado included) have passed "wellness laws" allowing insurance companies to bill their subscribers less for their health care premiums if they are healthy, vs. unhealthy! Prior to these laws being passed, this would have been considered discrimination. Participation by major insurance companies and corporations could amount to millions of dollars off the bottom line of a major corporation's employee health care costs (and the individual employee's monthly health care insurance bills). Now that's "health care" instead of "sick care"!

Personal fitness trainers also travel to outdoors locations for boot camp type training. Trainers specialize in spinning (a/k/a indoor cycling), yoga, pilates, or other group type training and work with groups of clients in private studios.

In summary, a health club is only ONE of the many locations a certified personal trainer might find employment or client opportunities.

Well, the bad news is the "good" news in terms of opportunity growth for personal trainers. In all honesty, one could say that it would be preferable that there were not such a great opportunity for personal trainers because of all the bad news!

GOOD NEWS: Personal trainers can work with parents, schools, and private organizations to combat this preventable and treatable problem. Weight management programs (like Weight Watchers®) need the complementary skills of a personal trainer.

BAD NEWS: Eight of the leading causes of premature death (see http://lapublichealth.org) death are due to poor lifestyle choices (e.g. alcohol abuse, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition choices, etc.)

GOOD NEWS: A personal trainer can train clients to make good and better lifestyle choices along with their choices for exercise and activity. One growing opportunity for personal trainers is overall life coaching (see www.HumanKinetics.com, "Lifestyle Fitness Coaching", by Dr. James Gavin).

BAD NEWS: 85% of people who join fitness centers quit in the first year (see www.IHRSA.org).

GOOD NEWS: With proper guidance and instruction and a well-thought out fitness plan over an extended period of time, a personal trainer can "reach" these same people and get them on the road to fitness success and out of the ditch of fitness failure.

BAD NEWS: The percentage of the overall population that will be over the age of 65 will increase by 400% in the next 20 years, and we are totally unprepared as a society to handle that number of retired people.

GOOD NEWS: Organizations like the International Council on Active Aging (see www.icaa.cc) and matured adult living communities such as those found on www.MatureLivingChoices.com promote a more active and healthy older adult, and personal trainers are finding that focusing on training the older adult is a very lucrative, needed, and appreciated focus area.

BAD NEWS: (for medical professionals!): Managed health care and the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance is significantly decreasing the net income of many medical professionals, due to "less revenue per patient per visit" (managed health care) and more operating costs (insurance).

GOOD NEWS: Many medical professionals, such as physical therapists and chiropractors, are more likely to delegate their exercise prescriptions to a personal fitness trainer so that they can see more patients per day. Because of the rise of malpractice liability, these medical professional are more likely to prefer the services of a well-educated, experienced personal trainer (like an NPTI Colorado graduate), and not a personal trainer who simply took a weekend course or an on-line course.

Personal trainers might make as little as $10.00 hourly in a public, county-owned recreation center or they might make $75 an hour in an up-scale, country club setting providing $25,000 golf club membership-guests with golf-specific personal training. The "norm" is $18 - $22 per hour while training clients in one of the "big box" clubs like 24-Hour Fitness, Lifetime Fitness, or Bally's.

Training rates vary based on the club's policy for paying trainers based on the number of certifications, experience, and the compensation policy for years with the company, and pay while not training clients.

Expect to work hard building your client base in the first and second year (working 50+ hours weekly). You should make $35K - $50K a year if you work consistently, wisely, and building your business on referrals and "focusing."

You should expect to work 45 - 55 hours weekly with an established base of clients and you'll make $55 - $75K annually with an established client base "revenue stream".

With 5+ years in the business, consistently growing your referral business, perhaps training individuals as well as groups, performing nutritional assessments and counseling, and picking other fitness related forms of income.

Career personal fitness trainers (like Everett Aaberg in Dallas, Texas, listed as one of the top trainers in the country) have a waiting list of folks waiting to train with him for $150 + per hour. Phil Kaplan says with proper training, creativity, new client strategies, and focused energy, $200K per year is not unrealistic.

Find a problem (the bigger the problem, the better), fix it (and fix it better than anyone else can fix it), and focus on fixing that problem repeatedly, through many sessions, many clients, many partners, many locations, and many times better than the time you did before.

Listen to the career experts like Kelli Calabrese, Jim Labadie, Phil Kaplan, Ryan Lee, Everett Aaberg, and Bedros Keullian. Use resources like PTontheNet's "Personal Training Steps to Success", and you'll do very well in this industry.

Sometimes. Keep in mind if you are calling on people in their homes and charging them $75 per hour, you are not necessarily "making" (netting) $75 per hour because your costs of operating YOUR business must be extracted from that amount (e.g. your equipment, your travel time, the cost of maintaining your website). This is assuming you are probably operating your own business. You are also traveling from Point "A" to Point "B" and not being paid while in transit (unless you are charging a trip charge). If you run your business wisely and economically, and you schedule appointments with geographic proximity (minimizing your travel time), sure ... you can make more income calling on people in their homes.

PERSONAL TRAINERS MAKE MORE MONEY … based on how they do their business more than WHERE they do their business. Top producers in the personal training field

Per the data submitted to the accrediting body, Council on Occupational Education (COE), 71.3% of NPTI Colorado graduates secure employment in health & fitness / personal trainer related fields within six (6) months of graduation. Graduates primarily find jobs with fitness clubs (e.g. 24-Hour Fitness, Bally's, Lifetime Fitness, Fitness19, Colorado Athletic Clubs, and other smaller, independently health clubs. Some graduates start their own businesses, however, this is more than the exception than it is the rule as most graduates are relatively new to both the industry and the idea of owning / operating a business.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the recognized fitness industry leader in health and fitness related statistical, scientific, and trend data, and ACSM's report "Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends", for the past six years the report reveals that "... the need for educated, certified, and experienced fitness professionals ... is a trend that continues ...." .

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), "jobs for fitness workers are expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations [through 2020]" (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos296.htm, cited on July 27, 2012). They go on to say "As businesses and insurance organizations continue to recognize the benefits of health and fitness programs for their employees, incentives to join gyms or other fitness facilities will increase the need for workers in these areas." The BLS defines "much faster than average" (their highest rating) as an increase of 20% or more, with the health and fitness profession expected to increase by 24%. The BLS estimated that, in 2010, there were approximately 251,400 fitness trainers employed and projects that, by 2020, that number will increase to 311,800 (a difference of 60,400 workers, a 29% increase in the workforce in just 10 years).

In summary, a quick check of just these three major health & fitness employers will reveal the abundance of personal trainer job openings:

24-Hour Fitness (the single largest health & fitness related employer in the U.S.) 24-Hour Fitness recently scheduled a job fair at NPTI Colorado.

Business, Policy and Legal Issues

We also teach you the BUSINESS of personal training. We cover legal issues, administrative requirements, sales, marketing, resume writing, and even business planning and using the internet.

You will complete a portfolio that you take with you when you graduate. The portfolio will include projects such as these

Muscle Practicals – Demonstrating how you would train a client with special needs; how you would train a client with a block, a rock, a towel and a chair using simple body resistance

Legal and Policy Issues – what kind of insurance do you need to train clients in your home? Transport clients in your car? What kind of policies do you need to have in place and in writing regarding missing appointments? Referring new clients?

Finding a job – How do you properly highlight your skills, education, and experience as you are transitioning into your new career as a personal trainer when you have had no previous experience?

Sales & Marketing – How do I find clients? How do I retain clients? How do I ask a client to write me a referral letter? How do I get the local newspaper to print my article on training for ski season? What opportunities are there to train the “Over 50” client or obese adolescents?

You will learn far more than that. You will complete a personal trainer business case study that is so complete, it may actually become your business plan for your personal fitness trainer business. You will explain your choices in advertising. You will demonstrate the knowledge to have personal, product, and facility insurance covering you, your practice, and your equipment. You will know where many major web sites are to advise you on the personal training requirements for the morbidly obese, for bodybuilders, for training the elderly. And you will assemble all of this information in your personal trainer portfolio.

We welcome you to come by the school and see some of the portfolios that other students and graduates have completed.

In fact, few professionally trained and educated personal trainers get sued. There are a high percentage of folks "masquerading" as personal trainers who find themselves facing litigation because they were not properly trained and educated.

At NPTI Colorado, you will learn about being properly insured to include facility insurance, product liability insurance, personal trainer insurance. You will learn to properly screen your client and have your client sign a Liability Waiver. You will learn when to have your client cleared (in writing) by a licensed medical professional. You will learn proper, safe spotting techniques. After graduating from NPTI Colorado, you will feel confident in your ability to be a safe, effective, and protected professional personal trainer.

Have a look at the downloadable forms recommended by Association Insurance, a specialist insuring personal fitness trainers and health clubs, www.ClubInsurance.com. We’ll teach you what all of these forms and policies mean and we’ll teach you how to stay out of court.

Diet and Nutrition

NPTI Colorado is proud to offer over 100 hours of diet and nutrition education using the content from the ACE textbook and certification, "ACE Health Coach Manual".

You will have the knowledge to move clientele toward a state of optimal health, wellness and body composition. You will learn how to complete a nutrition log and give your client sounds advice on their nutritional needs.

We cover 100 hours of Nutrition to include improving athletic performance, working with obese parents with obese kids. You will learn about fat metabolism during exercise, vitamins, minerals, hydration, harmful weight loss techniques, nutritional concerns of active women, energy systems for exercise; how intensity, duration, and fitness level influence the type of fuel used by the muscles for energy, and more.

Personal trainers do not prescribe diets and that's exactly what we teach you. Only licensed medical professionals "prescribe" anything. Personal trainers can (and should) give nutritional advice. Professionally trained and educated personal trainers should advise their clients on what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat, and what combinations of food are good / bad to eat. A personal trainer does not "prescribe" a diet which implies treatment of an unhealthy person with a diagnosed illness such as anorexia, bulimia, diabetes, etc. In fact, a well-educated personal trainer who successfully graduated from NPTI Colorado and successfully passed the ACE "Health Coach" certification would clearly know to consult with the client's physician or dietician even before giving advice. Many health and fitness employers, like 24-Hour Fitness, will actually pay you at a higher level for having the ACE Health Coach certification!

Our industry has a well used phrase, “You cannot out-train a crappy diet”. This is so very true. You will find that after a year or two as a trainer, most of your new clients will come from existing client referrals. You will never achieve optimal results with your existing clients if you do not address their diet and nutrition needs. If a personal trainer does not address his/her clients' diet and nutrition needs, that trainer will never achieve the success s/he deserves (through successful client referrals).

Personal Training Academics

Yes, we can. We have on-line study sheets to guide you through the texts each day. We encourage you to consult with your degreed, experienced professional instructor. We conduct each class with a professionally prepared Powerpoint presentation so that each class has consistency.

We have test reviews before each and every tests. We even allow extra credit projects to help you bring your grade point average up if you start to fall behind. We've successfully taught individuals with learning disabilities as well as from foreign countries such as Korea and Brazil.

Do 100% of our students successfully pass the course? No, they do not. However, the ones who fail typically just quit trying and quit applying themselves.

If you can devote one to three hours per day / night to homework and studying, you’ll do just fine. Generally speaking, you’ll never have to “pull an all-nighter”. Longer, intensive homework assignments are assigned well in advance of their due dates.

Yes, we do have class discussion and we do test your knowledge of working with special populations. You will learn adequate questioning techniques to protect your client and to protect you. You will learn how to properly communicate with the individual client's chosen medical professional so that you know what is "O.K." and what is "not O.K." from a personal fitness training perspective.

You’ll learn how to secure a Waiver and Release of Liability from a client as well as how to secure permission from the client to collaborate with the client’s primary care physician should the client’s special needs exceed your scope as a certified personal trainer.

Come sit in on a class. Talk to students who are currently attending. And when you leave the campus, have a look at the mountains and the surrounding area and think about the fun you'll be having when you're not in school: hiking, biking, skiing, snowboarding, or attending a jazz festival in Vail or Aspen, or enjoying the nightlife in Denver's LoDo District, or a Broncos football game or Avalanche hockey game (Denver was voted the BEST professional sports city in the US by Sports Illustrated).

We allow you to train your clients here for FREE after you graduate for three months (Lakewood only).

We have pages and pages of job opportunities on our website (which is accessible to you long after you graduate).

We host continuing education seminars and at a discount through our continuing education company, Fitness Resources … after you graduate.

Our staff has a combined education and experience level of 120+ years, they are hardly "personal trainers who teach part time".

All of our staff are degreed professionals (over 65% of all personal trainers do not have college degrees).

Check out our Staff page …. See for yourself! 100% of our staff are degreed professionals with 5+ years or more experience unlike most other career technical schools.

Not only is our staff typically paid more than competing career technical schools (who teach personal training not as a focus area but more as a "sideline", offering everything under the sun from cosmetology programs to x-ray technician to pharmacy technician, with the personal trainer career program kind of thrown in for "variety"). Our educated and experienced staff meets and exceeds all standards set forth by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, by the Colorado Office of Veterans' Education (COVET), and by any other federal, state, and local government agency who monitors, funds, or approves our personal fitness trainer program.

You should plan to spend about one to two hours per day studying and completing homework.

Can you pass if you just "show up"? Probably not. And if you did, it would be because you have a photographic memory. You will be tested about every two weeks.

You will have a mid-term examination and a final examination … both a written and a practical examination.

When you graduate, you will be PREPARED and you will have a significant academic and practical edge on your personal trainer peers who are getting started on the industry many of whom only studied to pass a certification examination and did not receive the hands-on training and testing that you will have received).

If you are asking, "Do you have a very high pass rate for NPTI graduates who take exams like the NSCA - CPT exam?" Absolutely! We have a file FULL of successful graduates who passed the the “Certified Personal Trainer” (CPT).

Does Harvard Law School ... arguably one of the best law schools in the world ... guarantee that their graduates will pass the state bar exam after completing the Harvard Law program? No, they do not. Nor does Southern Methodist University (SMU), or the University of Denver (DU), or ANY school.

This is not simply an "exam prep course". NPTI Colorado teaches you to be a well-rounded PERSONAL TRAINER. We do not simply teach you "how to take tests". Taking an exam and having a certification is important, but it is only an initial piece of beginning a personal training career. The certification "gets you an interview". PRACTICING as a successful personal trainer requires program design, business knowledge, and client risk assessment expertise. We teach all of that ... not just "how to pass a test".

Does NPTI Colorado prepare you for the CPT examination? If you take advantage of all the study tools (like our on-line study sheets), tap into the 130+ years of instructor expertise, attend class regularly, and complete all your homework ... there is a very, VERY high probability that you will PASS the Certified Personal Trainer examination.
So "yes"... regularly do your homework, regularly attend the lecture and the practical program ... and YES, you will probably pass the NSCA, ACSM, or ACE Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) examination! We have the copies of certificates to prove it! ... and that is also true for ACE’s “Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant” (LWMC) nutritionist examination!

NPTI Colorado does not control the test questions that NSCA, ACE, ACSM or any other certifying agency puts on their examinations. Certifying agencies test knowledge and skill ... not just "memorized" information. After having completed NPTI Colorado's course, you will be extremely well prepared to be tested on your knowledge as a beginning personal trainer ... not just your ability to memorize and regurgitate "data" ... like someone who attended a 2-day or 3-day test prep course.

NPTI Colorado was awarded a Bronze award for hosting the NSCA - CPT examination. NPTI Colorado has negotiated special prices for its graduates to take the ACE, NSCA, and NASM CPT examination. NPTI Colorado graduates who do well in class will tell you that NPTI Colorado prepared them well to successfully pass the CPT examination!

Practical Hands-on Training

When you think about it, you're paying us way too much money to just “work out”. We want to teach something that you don't know! Unlike some schools or programs, you do not just work while the instructor “baby sits”. We are going to challenge you and teach you something NEW!

When you graduate from NPTI Colorado, you'll know how to train a client with a towel, a chair, a set of stairs, and a medicine ball. Or a kettlebell. Or a rope. We're about a lot more than orienting some new gym member on how to use the garden variety piece of fixed motion equipment.

You will be in the fitness center, in the practical (or program design) part of the program with an 18 year old, or maybe a 58 year old. You might train with a man, or a woman, or someone who is a power lifter, a runner, or someone who may have never worked out before coming to NPTI. You will train every type, size, and variety of person that you may encounter "in the real world" … someone who might be your client some day.

Will you get in shape? You better believe it! We've had at least former students graduate and go on to compete in a bodybuilding show and take home a trophy or two. We've had students lose ten pounds, or forty pounds. Or gain weight … if that’s your goal.

You set your goals.

You achieve your goals.

You know what to do and how to get there, and you will learn how to direct your clients to do the same thing.

Once you are past the first two weeks of in-class orientation and basic personal training program design, you will be partnered with another person who is your training partner (not your workout partner). Every 3 - 4 weeks, you will be partnered with a different training partner. Your training partner may be an 18-year old male who just graduated from high school or a 35 year woman who just had a baby, or a 55 year old veteran in a wheelchair ... we have had all of these individuals and more attend NPTI Colorado.

You are learning how to TRAIN a client ... not just work out together. You'll write programs for each other. You'll evaluate each others' training style and make suggestions to your training partner on how to improve. You'll graduate with a wide variety of hands-on personal training experience.

How much time will you spend with hands-on training, fitness assessment, and other forms of PRACTICAL application? 45% or more of your total time depending on what type of electives you take (i.e. Advanced Training Methods is 90% hands on training while Starting Your Own Fitness Business is 100% classroom based).

Loan terms and conditions vary based upon the amount of your down payment, payment in full before / after you graduate, and your credit score (as well as your co-borrower should you have a co-borrower).

SCHOLARSHIPS

NPTI CO offers several partial scholarships. Please contact us for more information.

Yes, you certainly could choose a faster, cheaper route. 80%+ of trainers get in and out of the fitness business in less than three years (50% of those in the first six months). Why? Because they chose the "cheaper, faster" route. Like getting certified BEFORE getting a robust, solid academic and hands-on health & fitness education (such as what NPTI Colorado offers). Many chose to get certified on-line ... which is like learning how to SWIM on-line. Picture this, you just completed your weekend "personal trainer" course (taught by a "part-time" instructor) and you are standing in front of your first potential client or your first potential employer. The next person in line for the job is an NPTI Colorado graduate. You are proudly displaying your "XYZ" Certificate that you earned over a weekend or on-line (with little or no hands on experience). Your competitor for the same job, the NPTI Colorado graduate, just finished over 600 hours of classroom and practical experience; fitness testing and assessments; personal training sales, marketing, legal and policy issues; anatomy, kinesiology, and muscle practical case studies; and graduated from a course taught by degreed, experienced fitness and teaching professionals, and the NPTI Colorado graduate has in their portfolio an NPTI Colorado Diploma, a CPR / AED certification, an NASM Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)" certification, and an ACE "Health Coach" certification.

Who's going to get the job? So ask which program is more worth it? You decide.

Career Assistance

We maintain an excellent database of our students and graduates to make you aware via e-mail of many opportunities … for after you graduate: Continuing Education Credits (CEC), job opportunities, used equipment and fitness centers for sale, recertification for CPR / AED training, and more.

While enrolled at NPTI Colorado, we invite potential employers in to speak with you about their hiring needs. Some of these employers also are looking for interns.

Thinking about being self-employed? Train your clients at our fitness center, Personal Best @ Denver West, FREE for three months.

Utilize our on-line resource of available jobs & career opportunities. While we do have names / contact information for over 4,000 employers worldwide, we currently have over ten pages of job opportunities for just the Colorado area.
After you graduate, we do not just kick you out the door and wish you luck. We stay in touch and we keep you in touch with the industry and the opportunities that the industry has to offer.

Veteran & Unemployment Benefits

Yes, generally speaking, NPTI's Personal Fitness Trainer course is funded by the Colorado Workforce program. This does vary county-to-county, however, NPTI Colorado's program has been funded by these Colorado counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, and Summit counties. If your county is not listed, please have them contact us and we can usually provide the required information. We are also listed and approved in the State of Colorado's "Navigator" system (program ID# 301503 “Certified Personal Trainer”)

We have also been funded by the Colorado Department of Human Services Division for Vocational Rehabilitation and by the Veteran’s Administration Vocational Rehabilitation.

Our school has been funded for various students with multiple types of disabilities: dyslexia, bipolar disorder, physical disabilities, and more. In some cases, special tutoring was also funded by the state or by the Veteran’s Administration.

If you have a question about your GI Bill benefits coverage with our school, please give us a call.

In addition, we are approved for Workforce (unemployment) funding as we are listed on the State of Colorado's "Navigator" system. We have been funded by these counties and we are usually funded by any county who finds us in the State of Colorado Navigator system: El Paso County, Arapahoe / Douglas County, Jefferson County, Adams County, Denver County, as well as the State of Colorado and Veteran’s Administration Department of Human Services, Division for Vocational Rehabilitation.

NPTI Colorado's personal training program is funded VA Education Benefits (i.e. Montgomery GI Bill, Post 9/11 GI Bill, active duty Tuition Assistance (TA), military spouse MyCAA), Workforce, and the Colorado Department of Human Services Division for Vocational Rehabilitation. Not to say that other programs would not fund our program. For example, NPTI Colorado participates in the AmeriCorps scholarship program. Funding usually depends on the individual applicant. If you are not sure if your personal fitness training education is funded, please check with us and we will provide the necessary credentials to the federal, state, or local government agency where you are applying.

International / Out-of-state

We can help you with your housing, transportation and non-resident needs. We have an on-line informational resource for NPTI students who are looking for roommates. We can point you to over 10,000 available and affordable apartments within walking or biking distance of our school. We are in the middle of large college student population with lots of available housing. Red Rocks Community College, The Colorado School of Mines, and The Rocky Mountain School of the Arts are within five miles.

There is also readily available public transportation (four bus stops are within walking distance of our building) and the Colorado Mills Mall across the street with many, many restaurant and retail part-time job opportunities.

Check us out we are conveniently located in the Denver West Office Park (www.denverwest.com), right off I-70 with easy access to the Denver International Airport, to the Montrachet and Camden Apartments, see www.apartmentlinks.net for zip code 80401.

Yes, we do. NPTI Colorado has long been approved by the U.S. Justice Department for participation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) for non-immigrant students with active M-1 Student Visas.

Please see our web page on international students. We will help you through the process require to obtain your I-20, complete your I-901, secure your M-1 student VISA, an d meet the requirements of the SEVIS / SEVP program while you are here attending school.

We will also help you with information regarding housing, transportation, the cost of living, and more.

You need to consult with both the industry experts and the local government where you live. The laws affecting personal fitness trainers and the laws relative to personal trainer certifications may be different than they are in the United States. Generally speaking, certifications such as the Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) title awarded by organizations such as the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the American Academy of Sports Medicine (ACSM) are fairly well recognized outside of the U.S. Again, check with your home government officials and the local health and fitness industry leaders. Personal trainer compensation questions in your country can best be answered by local personal trainer managers, club owners, your government's labor board, and other subject matter experts.